Detroit Mayor Dave Bing gives his final major address, plans to stay involved with the city

DETROIT, MI - Outgoing Mayor Dave Bing has very specific plans for how he'll spend his first two weeks out of office at the start of 2014: Not getting out of bed at 5 a.m.

"I can just lay there for a while," Bing said after giving his last formal address as mayor Wednesday at a Detroit Economic Club meeting.

Bing spent the last four years fighting to reorganize city government, cut costs and persuade corporations to donate resources to the struggling city, only to have his power stripped away earlier this year when the state decided Detroit's problems were too large to avoid bankruptcy.

His term concludes at the end of this year, and once he gets his brief break from the daily grind of leading a massive city with gargantuan challenges, Bing plans to stay involved, particularly in anti-blight efforts.

"I do think I can bring something to the table, so I would like to do that, because that's still a major problem in the city," Bing said.

He said he wants to spend his time after leaving office mentoring youths, advising his daughters on running their businesses and staying in touch with city leaders on Detroit's challenges.

"I've spent my entire adult life here," Bing said. "... I still intend to be involved."

Bing also had some advice for Mike Duggan, who takes the mayor's office Jan. 1.

"You better have thick skin," said Bing, who planned to meet with Duggan later Wednesday. "If you take all this personally, you just can't deal with it. You do the best that you can and you move on."

He said that while he often disagrees with state-appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, he's tried to work cooperatively with him, and would advise Duggan to do the same.

"I think with an emergency manager at the helm, you've got to learn to work with that individual," Bing said. "The best thing I think Mike can do is work with the emergency manager and help work him out of a job."